precedent/president

How has the United States affected this word pair, precedent and president? Let's find out.

Precedent refers to something that went before; it precedes something or serves as an example:

This may be a dangerous precedent that facilitates and enables dozens and potentially hundreds of unethical fathers to solicit money for their sons in a pay-for-play manner.

The decision sets up a precedent for other cases, which means it's possible that the ruling will be taken to the US Supreme Court.

There is no precedent for what Manny Pacquiao has now done, winning eight titles in eight weight classes.

President refers to the leader of an organization, the chief presider. It was first used to mean the executive leader of a republic in 1787 in the American colonies and is used in that manner in the U.S. Constitution:

The president of Fresno State University's student body acknowledged publicly that he is an illegal immigrant.

Eric Rosengren, the president of the Boston Federal Reserve Bank said Wednesday that he doubted the economy was about take off.

President Obama's planned meeting for Thursday with top Congressional leadership has been postponed until Nov. 30.

So you could say America set a precedent by creating the role of president within a republic.

A precedent is something that sets a standard for future events. It's hard to say what the legal community would do without the word precedent, since so many legal judgments and decisions are based on what came before. Continue reading...